JUNE 25 (BALTIMORE) -- U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Antonio Lamont Johnson, a/k/a Tracey Johnson, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 13 years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin.

The sentence was announced by Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Colonel Michael Kundrat, Chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

“Today's sentencing exiles a heroin distributor and career criminal to federal prison,” stated Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington Field Division. “This is drug interdiction at its best. Quick and effective cooperation between our law enforcement partners in conjunction with the utilization of various investigative techniques brought this case to a successful conclusion,” added Colder.

According to his plea agreement, on September 2, 2012, DEA agents stopped a car carrier in El Paso, Texas. A drug detection dog alerted on a vehicle on the carrier, registered in Pikesville, Maryland, for the presence of narcotics. Investigators discovered a hidden compartment in the roof of the vehicle containing 4.6 kilograms of heroin, with a wholesale value of approximately $300,000.

Investigators brought the car carrier and the vehicle to Baltimore and a controlled delivery of the heroin was made on September 6, 2012. Johnson was seen paying the truck driver and then driving the vehicle into Baltimore. Johnson met with a co-conspirator, who took possession of the vehicle and parked it in a secluded section of a parking lot. They accessed the heroin. Agents then approached the vehicle and saw a kilogram open to view next to the co-conspirator, who was seated in the driver’s seat. Johnson and the co-conspirator were arrested.